Make Me Bad
by Aldrea7
Summary: Richie's power catches up with him, and no one can save him now.


**Author's Note: I almost made a songfic out of this, but then decided against it, so it is only based off the song Make Me Bad by Korn. Richie is my favorite character, so I hope I don't botch this story up too badly, I just haven't seen Static Shock in quite awhile. This may not be an original idea, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock, I am only writing this for fun, and the last time I checked, you couldn't be sued for fun.**

* * *

The day Virgil lost his best friend would forever haunt him. It seemed to happen so suddenly that he was sure there was nothing he could have done. All the warning signs were there, he was just blind to them. Richie had defended him, joked with him, he would have even died for him, but Virgil was too caught up in his own life to lend Richie a hand when he was clearly drowning. Both of them should have known this would happen eventually, and maybe Richie did. Richie knew everything after all, he had probably predicted his demise long before he realized the other things his mutation had brought on.

* * *

The last time Virgil had seen Richie was the night before, after patrol, and he hadn't shown up to school. Richie had seemed distracted and said he was going to stay at the gas station to work on something. Richie had probably just gotten carried away and was still at the gas station. The thought made Virgil frown. He opened the door of the gas station and saw his friend still in his Gear costume, he set his backpack by the door. "Yo, Rich, where-whoa…" Virgil broke off as he stared around the gas station in a mixture of shock, awe, and horror. The roof, walls, floor, and just about any flat surface had been covered in mathematical formulas. 

His partner seemed oblivious and kept muttering to himself and writing on a blank section of wall. Virgil cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. Richie jerked violently and Virgil stepped back. Richie blinked at him, his eyes seemed glazed over, they gained a moment of clarity and seemed to realize that Virgil was looking at him with worry. He looked down at his ink smeared hands and the wall. "I..." he started, but then it seemed he either didn't know what he should say, or forgot. Virgil tried to grab the marker out of his hand, but Richie tightened his grip around it and went back to muttering and scribbling on the wall.

Virgil watched him for a few more moments, too shocked for his brain to function properly. He grabbed Richie's shoulders and tried to pull him away from the wall. He started verbally protested then swung around and landed a punch to Virgil's jaw. Virgil stumbled back, clutching his jaw, Richie turned back to the wall as if nothing had happened. Virgil knew that there was no way he could get Richie out of there without hurting him, and knew there was only one other thing. He didn't bother to grab his backpack on the way out, too preoccupied with what he was about to do.

Virgil burst through his front door, praying his dad was home already, "Dad!" he called, "Dad!"

His dad appeared at the top of the stairs, "What's wrong?"

"It's Richie," said Virgil, taking a deep breath, preparing himself for the inevitable, "He's in trouble."

His dad looked extremely concerned and had already grabbed his coat and had his hand on the door before he said, "What kind of trouble?"

"He's…he's a Bang Baby, and his power is out of control." Different emotions flickered across his dad's face, and he knew he was probably in for a full interrogation later. He wouldn't tell his father voluntarily that Richie was Gear, because that would give away his secret too, but if asked he wouldn't lie.

They drove to the gas station under Virgil's direction, and when they got there he was told to stay in the car. His dad went inside for about five minutes, then came out talking on his cell phone. His sister showed up soon.

"Virgil, I want you to go with your sister. We'll talk later," he said, giving Virgil a stern look.

"I'm not leaving, what about Richie?" Virgil asked, shaking off the hand his sister had placed on his shoulder.

"Richie is going to be fine, and yes, you _are_ leaving because I told you to."

* * *

It was another two days before Virgil saw his friend. They had transferred Richie to a mental health facility for Bang Babies. The first visit was so hard that he had to force himself to go back again. Richie was strapped to a bed, staring at the ceiling muttering. Virgil didn't know if it was something they had given him that caused this behavior, but he hated it and wanted to get Richie out of there, even though he knew it was best. Virgil tried to visit at least once a week, he didn't know why, Richie was almost always the same. Richie didn't seem to know or care that Virgil visited him, but from the moments when his eyes cleared and he said his friend's name, Virgil knew better. 


End file.
